1. Field of the Invention
The inventions relates generally to a system and method for hot forming a plurality of parts, such as steel parts for chassis and automotive body applications.
2. Related Art
Hot forming processes typically comprise heating a steel blank in a furnace, followed by stamping the heated blank between a pair of dies to form a shaped part, and quenching the shaped part between the dies. The steel blank is typically heated in the furnace to achieve an austenitic microstructure, and then quenched in the dies to transform the austenitic microstructure to a martensitic microstructure. The hot forming process preferably runs continuously to produce a plurality of the shaped parts at a high rate and low cost. However, when the furnace malfunctions, the entire system must be shut down for a period of time while the furnace is repaired, which increases the cost per part produced by the system.